RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun

The RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun was a Rifled, Muzzle Loading (RML) naval, field or fortification artillery gun manufactured in England in the 19th century,[2] which fired a projectile weighing approximately 64 pounds (29 kg). "64 cwt" refers to the gun's weight rounded up to differentiate it from other "64-pounder" guns.

RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun
Fortification mounted MK III gun firing at Fort Glanville Conservation Park, South Australia
TypeNaval gun
Fortification gun
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1865–190?
Used byBritish Empire
Production history
DesignerWoolwich Arsenal
Designed1864
ManufacturerWoolwich Arsenal
Elswick Ordnance Company
VariantsMk I, II, III
Specifications
Mass64-long-hundredweight (3,300 kg)
Length9 ft 10 inches[1]
Barrel length97.5 inches bore
Shell64 pounds (29 kg)[2]
Calibre6.3 inches (160 mm)
ActionRML
Breechnone – muzzle-loading
Muzzle velocitywrought-iron tube : 1,252 feet per second (382 m/s)
Mk III steel tube : 1,390 feet per second (420 m/s)[3]
Effective firing range5,000 yards (4,600 m)[2]

Description

The calibre of 6.3 inches was chosen to enable it to fire remaining stocks of spherical shells originally made for the obsolete 32 pounder guns if necessary.

Mark I (adopted in 1864) and Mark II (adopted 1866) guns, and Mark III guns made from 1867 – April 1871 had wrought-iron inner "A" tubes surrounded by wrought-iron coils.

Mark III guns made after April 1871 were built with toughened mild steel "A" tubes, and earlier Mark III guns were re-tubed with steel and were classified as a siege gun in land service. Remaining guns with iron tubes were used for sea service.[4]

Rifling of all guns consisted of 3 grooves, with a uniform twist of 1 turn in 40 calibres (i.e. 1 turn in 252 inches).[4]

Ammunition

The gun's standard shell was "common shell", for firing on troops in cover, ships and buildings, weighed 57.4 pounds (26.0 kg) when empty with a bursting charge of 7.1 pounds (3.2 kg). Shrapnel shells could also be fired; a 66.6 pounds (30.2 kg) shell with a 9-ounce (260 g) bursting charge propelling 234 metal balls.[5]

Surviving Examples of Guns
The sole surviving Mk I gun, at Fort George, Scotland.
Children posing with the Armstrong gun in the Toowoomba Botanic Gardens, 1912.

Surviving Examples of Ammunition
  • RML 64pdr shell that has been fired, and RML 64 fuse at Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct, Brisbane, Australia
  • RML 64pdr Mark I shell (no fuse) is held in the collection of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra
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See also

Notes and references
  1. http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/gun/rifled5.htm
  2. A Guide to Fort Glanville, South Australia. Semaphore Park, South Australia: The Fort Glanville historical association. 2000.
  3. 1,252 feet/second firing a 64-pound projectile with 8 pounds R.L.G. gunpowder is quoted for wrought-iron tubed guns in "Treatise on Construction and Manufacture of Service Ordnance, 1879", page 363. 1,390 feet/second firing a 65-pound projectile using 10 pounds R.L.G.4 gunpowder is quoted for Mk III steel tube gun in Table XII in "Text Book of Gunnery 1902".
  4. Treatise on Construction and Manufacture of Service Ordnance, 1879, pages 292, 261-265
  5. "The 64pr. 64 cwt gun Mark III". Palmerston Forts Society, Fareham Hampshire U.K. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  6. The two 1878 guns are still fired regularly "Gun-firing Re-enactment | Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct". fortlytton.org.au. Retrieved 13 August 2016.

Bibliography

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